, then the natural
encompasses it, as bark does its wood, and a scabbard its sword, and
also serves the spiritual as a defence against violence. From these
considerations it is evident, that natural love, which is love to the
sex, precedes spiritual love which is love to one of the sex; but if
fornication comes into effect from the natural love of the sex, it may
also be wiped away, provided conjugial love be regarded, desired, and
sought, as the chief good. It is altogether otherwise with the
libidinous and obscene love of adultery, which we have shewn to be
opposite to conjugial love, and destructive thereof, in the foregoing
chapter concerning the opposition of adulterous and conjugial love:
wherefore if a confirmed and determined adulterer for various reasons
enters into a conjugial engagement, the above case is inverted, since a
natural principle lies concealed within its lascivious and obscene
things, and a spiritual appearance covers it externally. From these
considerations reason may see, that the lust of limited fornication is,
in respect to the lust of adultery, as the first warmth is to the cold
of mid-winter in northern countries.

450. V. WITH SOME MEN THE LOVE OF THE SEX CANNOT WITHOUT HURT BE TOTALLY
CHECKED FROM GOING FORTH INTO FORNICATION. It is needless to recount the
mischiefs which may be caused and produced by too great a check of the
love of the sex, with such persons as labor under a superabundant
venereal heat; from this source are to be traced the origins of certain
diseases of the body and distempers of the mind, not to mention unknown
evils, which are not to be named; it is otherwise with those whose love
of the sex is so scanty that they can resist the sallies of its lust;
also with those who are at liberty to introduce themselves into a
legitimate partnership of the bed while they are young, without doing
injury to their worldly fortunes, thus under the first favorable
impressions. As this is the case in heaven with infants, when they have
grown up to conjugial age, therefore it is unknown there what
fornication is: but the case is different in the world where matrimonial
engagements cannot be contracted till the season of youth is past, and
where, during that season, the generality live within forms of
government, where a length of time is required to perform duties, and to
acquire the property necessary to support a house and family, and then
first a suitable wife is to be courted.

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